The Colorado Rockies have done a fine job with developing starting pitching over the past few seasons. Ryan Castellani could be the next success story after his first two starts in the majors. The former second-round pick doesn’t have a long track record yet but he is poised to join the likes of Jon Gray and Kyle Freeland as quality Rockies draftees.
Rockies Ryan Castellani Excelling Early
The Rockies originally selected Castellani in the second round of the 2014 Amateur Draft. He had a decent minor league career despite pitching in some of the hardest environments in baseball. Castellani sports a 4.80 ERA in 653 minor league innings with 531 strikeouts and 235 walks. Those numbers are not great but it’s important to note two things. First, he battled occasional injuries like bone chips near his elbow in 2019. Second, Castellani has always been at least a year younger than the average pitcher at every stop in the minors. A combination of youth and Colorado’s minor league parks can cause havoc for even the best pitching prospects.
Despite the difficulties of pitching in places like Albuquerque and Hartford, Castellani has shown flashes of quality. He threw 16 and two-thirds innings in the 2019 Arizona Fall League where he did quite well. Castellani posted a 2.16 ERA and 20 strikeouts against some of the league’s prime young talent. He didn’t lead pitchers in anything notable but avoided trouble and demonstrated why the Rockies still valued him.
That has carried over into the 2020 regular season. Castellani has two starts so far and dominated both. He has a 1.04 ERA in 8 and two-third innings with 10 strikeouts compared to only three walks. He has the fewest innings-pitched of any Colorado starter but he hasn’t shown any signs of being nervous in his rookie season. Castellani’s .577 WHIP would be the best in the National League if he had pitched enough innings to qualify.
How Castellani Is Succeeding
Castellani is thriving thanks to a mixture of five pitches. He is throwing a standard four-seam fastball almost 51 percent of the time that averages just over 93 mph. He also uses a two-seam sinking fastball averaging 94 mph that helps generate a 50 percent ground ball rate. However, the sinker is his least-used pitch through two starts. A changeup, slider, and curveball are Castellani’s other offerings in order of usage. The rotation overall has been very reliant on breaking pitches this year and Castellani is no exception.
As good as Castellani has been, he might be benefiting from his small sample size. His swinging-strike rate is just 14.2 percent. That figure ties Castellani with several major league starters including Masahiro Tanaka, who has never been known for his strikeout prowess. Castellani’s overall contact rate on all pitches is 65 percent. He has looked great so far thanks to a good ground ball rate, which benefits one of the best infields in baseball but high contact is usually a bad sign for pitchers at Coors Field. Another start or two is necessary before any concrete conclusions can be drawn about his true talent as a starter.
What to Expect the Rest of 2020
Castellani will continue to get starts as long as he keeps up the good work. The Rockies do have Jeff Hoffman on the staff with his 38 career starts but the 27-year-old has been dominating in relief in 2020. There is also Chi Chi Gonzalez who threw one start this season before moving to the Injured List with biceps tendonitis. He might take the fifth starter’s spot when he returns but Castellani has the inside track right now.
However, an injury or collapse could force some interesting moves. The team recalled Ashton Goudeau to the major league roster yesterday after a close loss to the Houston Astros. Goudeau started in 16 games last year for Double-A Hartford with a 2.64 ERA but has not pitched yet in 2020. They also have Jose Mujica and Antonio Santos on the 40-man roster but neither of them has started a major league game yet.
An emergency could also result in Colorado adding someone to the 40-man roster like top prospect Ryan Rolison. Rolison was drafted in 2018 but has already reached High-A Lancaster where he posted a respectable 4.87 ERA in 116 and one-third innings. He is the team’s best pitching prospect overall but they would prefer not to need him in 2020. Thankfully, they won’t have to if Castellani can continue his strong start.
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